I have given a number of presentations at sportsmans shows about international hunting and Africa hunting specifically. One of the most common things about these are the questions about how tough the game is and how big a gun is needed at a minimum to really have success. You know the " is my 30/06 big enough" questions.
I’m not sure there will ever be a perfect answer for the size of the gun, or bow, but there is one common thing that makes a big difference, and that is shot placement. There are characteristics of anatomy and shot placement that should be studied, with an equal amount of effort to choosing the right bullet, cartridge, broadhead, bow etc.
I have a herd of Corsican sheep. they are very strongly bonded in the herd like most African species. They never want to be alone, and will exhaust every effort to stay with the group. This poses a whole different dynamic then when you’re hunting game that is solitary. Take Whitetail and Kudu as an example. Shoot one with about any good firearm, bullet or arrow, and you're going to follow it up and find it. Neither have a strong will to live or try to keep up with a herd.
On the other hand even my little corsican sheep will run flat out dead on their feet for hundreds of yards with a double lung hit to stay with the group. This makes finding herding species more challenging and difficult. If you make less then a perfect hit on a herd species, then you’re gonna be looking for a while if you find them at all.
Much of the game we hunt whether in America or Africa have the majority of organs low in the body rather then high in the body. I’ve seen far more lost and wounded game from high hits then low hits. Low and tight up against the leg is about as good as it gets. Above the midway point in the animal and you’re asking for trouble.
I have shot a whole lot of corsicans with a bow now. Culling them and for herd reduction. I’ve seen a midway up hit let a sheep live for 30 minutes even though the tops of both lungs were penetrated. Imagine how far an animal can go in the open wild bush in 30 minutes! On the other hand I’ve shot them 2” from the bottom of the brisket and had them fall in 30 feet, or about 10 seconds.
With the amount of big game I’ve seen hit with arrows and bullets, there is a definate advantage to the low body shots. Low and tight up against the front leg is very effective. Any further back and it’s also getting risky. Very rarely is an animal perfectly broadside. In most cases they are not perfectly square and the arrow is going to come out in front or behind where you thought you were aiming. Because of this you sometimes get only one lung when shooting higher, but lower you may still get both plus the heart and the arteries around the heart are there as well.
When in doubt shoot low, better to miss low, then to hit too high. I shot a corsican this weekend for a farm worker here. 33 yard shot, about exactly the midway point in the body. The group ran off and I had to walk and follow for about 1/4 mile. When I got up over the ridge I saw the arrow sticking out. How did it not zip right through? This ram was only 125 pounds! As he walked the arrow was swinging back and forth. Ah-ha it’s in the scapula on the opposite side! See what I mean, rarely are they perfectly square and the shot was a bit high. On an elk, caribou, wildebeest etc. it would have been fine as they are bigger and have a huge lethal area to hit. But on this smaller animal your placement needs to be perfect, as the lethal area is only the size of a grapefruit at best. Add to that it’s sometimes difficult to identify with that long mane and thick hair. I was able to get into position with another shot that was low and perfect. That sheep jumped and stopped, took two more steps and fell. The two arrows were less then five inches apart, both in what would look like the perfect kill zone. One let him run 500 plus yards, the other pretty much folded him in under 10 seconds.
Study anatomy, and learn what your aiming for. We should spend as much time with the academics of anatomy as we do in the entertainment of shooting. It seems that everyone wants to have the top of the line kit, and have some magic weaponry. But far fewer feel the need to do homework and learn or study what is truly important!
